I found the TM weekend class to be a good value. Its relatively cheap, gives you the information you need and only takes 2 days, then its up to you to put in the time taking practice exams(and I might add you can't do enough of this, especially take practice exams under timed conditions.

My understanding is that transferring is an iffy proposition even with great grades. So if you go to the school that accepted you it should be with the understanding that you might be there for the duration. Even if its not your top choice, if it has a decent reputation in the region, assuming that's where you want to end up. check out its hiring rates- if they do pretty well locally, then it's probably not a bad choice to go there for 1L, and if you do well enough try the transfer route and if that doesn't work stick it out and do well, then you should at least land a decent job.

I scored a 152 so a 165 sounds pretty darn good to me. Going into the test RC was the section I felt most comfortable with and I probably did ok on it, though the one thing that happened to me, is that I ran out of time even though I had taken many timed practice tests. My advice would be to really focus on reading and spotting the typical questions that are typically asked(main theme of the passage, etc.) as fast as you possibly can--it's hard to explain 35 minutes under actual test conditions just goes much faster than in practice tests- must be some type of time warp thing. Really hold yourself to those timelimits when you practice and focus on finishing before the time limit so come actual test time you're on top of it.

ok, as you may have guessed I spent some time in the area(mostly in Blacksburg but unfortunately only travelled through Grundy, its pretty far off the beaten path so there's not a whole lot close. Another place to check out might be Wytheville, another small town maybe a half hour or so closer. My uncle lived there for a while- a pretty darn nice small town, there's a community college there and its right on the interstate so would be an easy drive to get to a big city say like Roanoke(now there's something I didn't think I'd ever do; use the phrase big city in the same context as Roanoke- but in these parts Roanoke is as cosmopolitan as you're going to get). Southwest Virginia is beautiful and there's plenty of wonderful places to live- you might consider moving to Roanoke early if you can and explore the area from there

Ok- the verdict is in, despite all the advice here, I'm going to Golden Gate=basically economics dictate that I stay in the Bay area even though I may eventually relocate to the East Coast. Golden Gate appears to have a good environmental law program and that's something I'd like to persue as it has some relevance to my work experience. Santa Clara turned me down though they've been fairly vocal for me to consider transferring there after 1L if my grades are good enough. Something I'll definitely keep in mind come next summer.